With the advancement in technology, the influence of media has grown exponentially. We live in a society where it is really easy to get information and communicate our ideas and thoughts. Nowadays, people can publish their ideas in any way they want by using different media access, such as radio, magazines, newspaper, TV, internet etc.

The media is important. It helps us to move forward with our daily activities and bring us knowledge and information about what is happening around the world. The only problem lies with how much of that information (from the media) should we use and how much should we believe. It is really hard for us to know what is actually accurate, factual or invalid and fictional. Most of our decisions, beliefs and values are based on what we know for a fact, our education, and our experience. There are some moments of our lives especially at work, when we know we need to base on our studies, education and experience. However, in our daily lives we rely on the media to get the current news and facts about what is important and what we should be aware of. We have put our trust in the media as an authority to give us news, entertainment and education. On the other hand, there is other information there, specialty in entertainment TV channels, which uses correct and erroneous information (depending on what they really want you to believe) to sell to people. 

A good example of media using their information to control or sell people is cable TV channels related to design, such as HGTV. There, they show you how an Interior designer can transform a place according to what the clients want. They show you a lot of innovating and crazy ideas. They show you how the place looked before and after, how functional it is, and how happy they make families (with their new homes) in a couple of days or sometimes even in one single day. They do not tell or show you what process the creation (of the new place) took. Nor do they tell you how much analysis, study, and concept went into the new development. Also, they do not mention anything about the material or codes they used. These things are very important for the safety and health of people.
As I mentioned before, the media has a huge impact on society and also in public opinion. If we provide incomplete information to the public, the public opinion will support a wrong appreciation. This is one of the reasons why so many people do not really understand what interior design is, what kind of education is required and how interior designers work is devoted on improving people’s lives.

Is Industrial and Interior Design related?

Industrial and interior design are much related. If we take a look from the interior design side, how can you create a space without thinking about what you are going to need in it? How can you imagine a place without thinking about everything you are going to put in it (from furniture lighting to technology)? As an interior designer, we have all these ideas in our minds. Once we create an empty area/space, it will be that much better if we also have the knowledge about products we will put into that empty area/space.

           

We ask ourselves, “How are these products going to affect the space?” Products can make spaces look smaller, crowded, or even uncomfortable, so it is very important to have product knowledge as it relates to the space created.

If we look from the industrial design side, how can you create a product and improved it without knowing how that object relates with the environment? How is this product going to affect the space, and where would it be best used in (in relation to the location)? These are the questions that need to be answered before creating the product.

If you are the one who designs the space, there is no one better than you to know what you are going to need in that space. You also know how you can accommodate everything in order to make it a comfortable place. You in essence create the space in order to enjoy what will be used in it.

These two disciplines share two really important objectives which are the study of function and form. As interior designers, we need to create useful and safety spaces, in order to create a good connection between the space and everyone who is going to use it. We fix problems in order to improve people’s lives using safety codes and concepts. Industrial designers work really very similar. They study the connection between products, users and environment. Industrial designers use a combination of applied art and applied science to improve the aesthetics, ergonomics, and usability of products.

These two disciplines are focused on the improvement of life, safety, and function. How can they not be related and connected to each other.

Diferences bwt Architecture, Interior Design and Interior decorator

According to Lucinda Kuakas Havenhand in her article “A View from the Margin,” Interior design is perceived as feminine, superficial, and mimetic as compared to a male, rational, and original architecture. An architect is a person who is involved in the planning, designing and oversight of a building's construction. Buildings must be safe and strong. They must also suit the needs of the people who use them. An architect, invents, designs buildings, and translates the user’s requirements into a build environment. They create something that does not exist already in an open space.  An interior designer is involved in the process of shaping the experience of interior space through the manipulation of spatial volume as well as surface treatment.  Interior design draws on aspects of environmental psychology, architecture, and product design. Interior designers have to be good with more than color, fabric, and furniture; interior designers must know materials, have budgeting skills, communicate well, and oversee the ordering, installation, and maintenance of all objects that define a space. They also have to know about electrical capacity, safety, and construction. In order to have all these qualities and knowledge, interior designers must have a school degree, pass examinations, have experience and attain a license (required by the state).This broader range of required knowledge distinguishes them from interior decorators. “Interior designers do understand that they have a problematic and often misunderstood identity, although they have worked diligently over the past fifty years to identify and legitimize their field. In the 1930s and ´40s, these activities were centered on differentiating interior design from interior decorator through the creation of educational programs and criteria for competency and knowledge (Havenhand K. L. 2004).” As a result, professional organizations such as ASID,FIDER, and NCIDQ were formed to oversee the development and maintenance of these criteria both in education and practice.   The process of an interior designer is a strategic investment with a long term consequences. They do programming, light testing, space planning (to work with people’s needs), and layout the space. Once they get an approval, they start to design everything you see in the space from walls, surfaces, ceilings, lighting, and plumbing. Next, they install the furniture and art work. They create places that provide health, safety, and moral. They create spaces that connect with every person who is going to use it. On the other hand, an interior decorator is someone who decorates a room (or place) based on what they have available or what is in it. They deal with finishes, surfaces, furniture, and wall covering. They are able to work from a showroom to a remodeling retail store. There are no government regulations’ regarding the work of an interior decorator.  

Interior Design

Interior design is a discipline that looks after designing all of the interiors of a space. This can include things like flooring, windows, walls, doors, lighting, furniture, and miscellaneous design pieces. 

An Interior designer is not a decorator, or architect. We don’t just pick colors, materials, fabrics, and be creative. We help people to understand what they really want, and what they really like.

Every human being is different, so we do a deep study of people’s personality based on principles to deliver to people something that they have not experienced before.

We have education, work place experience, and regular examinations. We are uniquely qualified to select finishes and materials for purpose and reason. To select color we think about lighting and mood. We focus in design trends; we consider building codes, barrier free designs for all individuals and the integration of a technology to protect the health, safety and well being of the users of the space.

We can work in so many different environments; residential, retail, hospitality spaces, commercial, and health care facilities.

Our job is really important, we are responsible for anything people see walking into an enclose space from lighting, light figures, pluming, and wall color, to flooring, accessory furniture and art work.

We created and experience spaces that are always functional for everyone who is going to use it. It is more than pillows and paint; we focus on health and safety not only for people but for the environment. We improved people’s lives.

We are professionals that create welcome spaces uses by people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities.

This is a really long process where interior designers take time sketching, drawing, and planning the space.

In order to deliver comfort to people, we have to use analysis and work pictures to describe to the individual what they are going to see before it is being done. It is not as simple as taking examples of a magazine and copying them; it is something more personal that will improve people’s lives with comfort and safety. We set people up for success based on principles, structure, rhythm, and personal interest.

We have a big imagination. We think of how people will feel, talk, work or relax in the space. We can make this appear in stores, restaurants, sports stadiums, hospitals, etc

If you choose something you feel passionate about, your job won’t even feel like work. You have to do what you love, so people can love what you do.